Singapore and the Chinese city of Tianjin will join hands to build a green transport system in the Sino-Singaporean Eco-city, according to Memorandums of Understanding between the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Company (SSTEC), and the LTA Academy and Singapore Technologies Kinetics Limited (ST Kinetics).

The MOUs were signed on Wednesday at an international seminar, “Green Transport for Growing Cities,” held by Tsinghua University and the LTA Academy in Beijing.

The green transport system will rely on electric and hybrid electric vehicles for both public vehicles and private cars to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality in the Eco-city, Goh Chye Boon, the CEO of SSTEC, said. It will also include an extensive public transport system.

According to the MOU, the academy will take on a policy advisory role in developing the land transport system in the Eco-city, drawing on its previous experiences in monitoring land programs in Singapore.

ST Kinetics, one of Asia’s leading defense and specialty vehicles companies, will conduct a feasibility research on building a green public transport system in the Eco-city and similar studies in the future for building a green private transport network. The collaborations are an important strategic step forward in developing a new type green transport network, and show a genuine determination to transform the way people travel, Mr Goh Chye Boon said.

“We believe we will be a model in building a green transport network for other Chinese cities, working together with the two Singaporean organizations,” he added.

The Eco-City is designed to be a new, environmentally friendly city jointly constructed by China and Singapore in Binhai New Area, in Tianjin.